PMP Practice Test 45 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a hybrid project. The team is reporting that sprint velocity has been decreasing for the last three sprints. During the retrospective, the team attributes this to technical debt and unclear requirements. What should you do FIRST?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the team to identify root causes and create an action plan to improve velocity. In a hybrid project with declining velocity attributed to technical debt and unclear requirements, the servant-leader PM should first collaborate with the team to identify root causes and build an action plan (A). This addresses the systemic issues rather than applying a superficial fix, and it respects the team's self-organizing nature.

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Add more team members to increase capacity

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Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time

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Escalate the issue to the sponsor

Question 2

Your agile team has been consistently delivering high-quality increments. However, the product owner has been absent from the last two sprint reviews, and stakeholders are losing interest. What should you do as the scrum master?

Accepted Answer

Speak with the product owner to understand the issue and emphasize the importance of their attendance.. The scrum master serves the product owner and organization by removing impediments and coaching on agile practices. A product owner missing sprint reviews is a process/engagement issue that the scrum master should address directly with the PO first, understanding the root cause and reinforcing why their attendance matters for inspecting the increment and gathering stakeholder feedback. This is servant-leadership in action — address the human/process issue before escalating or restructuring.

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Ask the stakeholders to provide feedback directly to the team instead of attending the review.

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Continue the sprint reviews without the product owner, as the team can self-organize.

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Cancel sprint reviews until the product owner can attend.

Question 3

You are the project manager for a complex IT infrastructure project. Two senior developers have a conflict regarding the technical approach to a critical component. The conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. Both approaches are valid but have different resource and schedule implications. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both developers to evaluate each approach against project objectives.. PMP guidance (PMBOK 7 / PMI Code of Ethics) directs the project manager to first engage the parties involved and facilitate collaborative problem-solving before escalating or deciding unilaterally. Bringing both developers together to evaluate each approach against project objectives addresses the root cause, preserves team morale, and leverages their technical expertise. This aligns with the 'servant leadership' and 'engage stakeholders' principles.

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Ask the developers to document both approaches and then choose the one with lower cost.

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Escalate the conflict to the project sponsor for resolution.

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Make a decision yourself based on the project constraints to save time.

Question 4

You are managing a large, complex project with multiple vendors. A critical vendor is consistently late on deliveries, impacting the project's critical path. The vendor contract includes penalties for delays. Which TWO actions should the project manager take FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the vendor to discuss the delays and explore corrective actions.. Option A is correct because the project manager's first step in a vendor performance problem is to engage the vendor directly to understand root causes and agree on corrective actions, which is the collaborative, problem-solving approach expected before formal escalation. Option B is correct because the PM must first review the procurement contract to know the exact penalty clauses, notice requirements, and escalation path before taking any contractual action, ensuring decisions are grounded in the agreed terms. Option C is not appropriate as a first action because escalating to the sponsor should come after direct vendor engagement and contract review fail to resolve the issue. Option D is premature because issuing a formal non-compliance notice and invoking penalties requires prior contract review and typically a documented cure period. Option E is far too drastic; termination is a last resort after corrective actions and contractual remedies have been exhausted.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for intervention.

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Issue a formal notice of non-compliance and invoke penalty clauses.

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Immediately terminate the contract and find a new vendor.

Question 5

Your project is using a hybrid approach with a fixed-price contract for the predictive portion and a time-and-materials contract for the agile portion. A change request from a stakeholder would affect both portions. The change control board (CCB) has approved the change for the predictive portion but deferred the agile portion to the product owner. How should you proceed?

Accepted Answer

Update the predictive baseline as approved, and coordinate with the product owner to prioritize the agile portion in the product backlog. In a hybrid project, the predictive portion follows the CCB's formal change control decision, while the agile portion is governed by the product owner who owns backlog prioritization. Since the CCB approved the predictive change and deferred the agile portion to the product owner, the PM should update the predictive baseline and coordinate with the product owner to prioritize the agile work in the backlog.

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Implement the change for both portions since the CCB approved the overall change

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Request the CCB to also approve the agile portion before taking any action

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Reject the change entirely because it was not fully approved

Question 6

In an agile project, the team's velocity has dropped for three consecutive sprints. The daily standup meetings are rushed, and team members often work in silos. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify impediments and propose improvements. In agile, when velocity drops and team dysfunction appears (rushed standups, silos), the correct first action is to facilitate a retrospective so the team can inspect and adapt. The retrospective is the agile ceremony specifically designed to surface impediments and agree on improvements, and it empowers the team rather than imposing top-down fixes.

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Increase the frequency of daily standups to twice per day

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Add more team members to increase capacity

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Assign a senior developer to monitor individual productivity

Question 7

During a project's execution phase, a key vendor notifies you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time due to raw material shortages. The component is on the critical path, and any delay will impact the project completion date. The risk was identified and listed in the risk register with a planned response to accept. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact on the project schedule and cost, and inform key stakeholders of the situation.. The project manager should first assess the impact on schedule and cost and inform stakeholders because the risk was accepted, meaning no contingency plan was created. This aligns with PMBOK's emphasis on proactive communication and analysis before taking action. Informing stakeholders ensures transparency and allows for collaborative decision-making.

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Implement the contingency plan as defined in the risk register.

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Update the risk register to document the issue and close the risk.

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Direct the team to find an alternative supplier and expedite the order.

Question 8

Your project is using a hybrid approach. The business case is no longer valid due to a change in market conditions, but the sponsor insists on continuing because significant resources have already been spent. What is the best action?

Accepted Answer

Present the updated business case and recommend a formal decision review with the steering committee. The best action is to present the updated business case and recommend a formal decision review with the steering committee. In a hybrid project, when the business case is invalidated, the project manager should escalate to the governance body that can make a go/no-go decision. This ensures a transparent, fact-based decision rather than continuing due to sunk cost fallacy.

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Increase the project budget to improve the business case

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Stop the project immediately to prevent further losses

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Continue the project as planned to avoid wasting invested resources

Question 9

A project manager is informed that a new government regulation will affect the project deliverables. The regulation is mandatory and must be implemented before the project can close. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact on scope, schedule, and cost, then submit a change request. When a new mandatory regulation affects project deliverables, the project manager must first perform an integrated change control assessment — evaluating the impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk — before any change is approved. This assessment feeds into a formal change request submitted to the Change Control Board (CCB). Only after approval should the project plan be updated.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

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Update the lessons learned document to capture this experience

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Continue with the current plan as the regulation may not be enforced

Question 10

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The cost variance is due to higher-than-expected material costs. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Perform a variance analysis, update the cost forecast, and consider corrective actions such as finding cost savings. When a project is over budget due to higher material costs, the project manager should first perform variance analysis to understand the root cause, then update the cost forecast (e.g., EAC) and evaluate corrective actions such as negotiating lower prices or finding cost savings elsewhere. This aligns with PMP's analyze-then-act principle.

Answer

Reduce the project scope to bring costs back in line

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Continue as planned since the project is only 15% over budget

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Request additional funding from the sponsor immediately

Question 11

During project execution, a team member reports that a deliverable may not meet the quality standards due to a shortcut taken earlier. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Review the quality management plan and perform a quality audit to identify process gaps. When a quality concern surfaces during execution, the PM should consult the quality management plan and conduct a quality audit to determine whether the process itself has gaps that allowed the shortcut. Audits are the preventive, process-focused tool in Manage Quality, addressing root causes rather than just the symptom.

Answer

Accept the deliverable as is and document the deviation

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Escalate to the sponsor for a decision on quality acceptance

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Instruct the team member to redo the work to meet standards

Question 12

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the customer expresses satisfaction but requests a small additional feature that was not in the original backlog. The team believes it can be completed in two days without affecting the critical path. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board for evaluation and approval.. In a hybrid project, any change to the baseline scope—even a small one—must go through the formal change control process. The change control board (CCB) evaluates the impact on scope, schedule, cost, and quality before approval. Submitting a change request ensures the change is properly assessed and documented, maintaining the integrity of the project management plan.

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Ask the team to implement the feature and document it as a scope change later.

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Inform the customer that no changes are allowed after the sprint review.

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Approve the request since it is small and won't affect the schedule.

Question 13

During a project's execution phase, you receive a change request from a stakeholder that would improve the product's performance but is not required by the original specifications. The change is estimated to add 2 weeks to the schedule and $10,000 to the budget. The project is currently on schedule and under budget. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Perform an impact analysis and submit the change request to the CCB. In PMP terms, any change request — even one that seems beneficial — must go through Integrated Change Control, which begins with an impact analysis across scope, schedule, cost, risk, and quality. The analyzed request is then submitted to the Change Control Board (CCB) for a decision. Approving or rejecting before analysis violates the change management process and the project manager's ethical and procedural responsibilities.

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Instruct the team to implement the change and adjust the project plan later

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Approve the change since the project has contingency

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Reject the change because it is out of scope

Question 14

A change request that affects the critical path has been approved. What is the NEXT step for the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines. Once a change request affecting the critical path is approved, the project manager must communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines to reflect the new scope, schedule, and cost. This ensures everyone works from the same approved version and that future performance is measured against the revised baseline.

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Implement the change immediately without updating documents

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Instruct the team to ignore the change until next sprint

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File the change request in the project archives

Question 15

You are leading a virtual project team with members in four countries. A team member from one location complains that another team member from a different location is not responding to emails and messages promptly, causing delays. Upon investigation, you find that the second team member feels their work hours are not respected and they are expected to respond outside their working hours. The team charter does not address communication hours. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team meeting to update the team charter with agreed communication protocols, including response time windows and respect for working hours. The team charter is the foundational document that defines ground rules, communication norms, and working agreements for the team. Since the charter does not address communication hours and the conflict stems from a missing agreement, the PM should first facilitate a collaborative session to update the charter with agreed protocols. This addresses the root cause, respects both team members, and aligns with PMBOK's emphasis on team charter as the primary tool for establishing team norms.

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Ask the second team member to respond to messages within 2 hours during their working hours

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Transfer the second team member to a different project if they are unable to meet communication expectations

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Establish a new policy that all team members must be available during a common overlapping time zone